Influence of the storage on bioactive compounds and sensory attributes of herbal liqueur

Abstract

Stability of bioactive compounds present in a herbal liqueur, as well as its sensory attributes were surveyed during a year - long storage under various conditions. The antioxidant activity, the total content of phenolic and flavonoid compounds, their antioxidant effectiveness, as well as antibacterial and antifungal activity, were found dependent on storage conditions and duration. The storage in the opaque green and transparent white bottles caused statistically significant changes upon 60 and 15 days, respectively. Both decrease of antioxidant activity (approximate to 30 %) and total content of phenolic compounds (approximate to 7 %) upon one year storage in the original opaque bottles placed in cardboard box was 18 % lower than upon the storage in the white bottles exposed to daylight, while decrease of total flavonoid compounds (approximate to 16 %) was 26 % lower. The most prominent changes were observed within the first six month of the storage. During the remaining storage time monitored parameters were found almost constant. Sensory analysis confirmed dynamics of changes that herbal liqueur experienced during the storage.